


him, the coffee shop, and me

by aalphard



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Attempt at Humor, Kageyama Tobio is an idiot, M/M, asahi is a literal sunshine, im sorry i tried, just thought id point it out, minor daisuga hell yea sue me, ryu is mentioned like two times lol, yuu is a thirsty hoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24799867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aalphard/pseuds/aalphard
Summary: Even though he stopped ordering his white chocolate mocha and, instead, ordered his coffee black, he didn’t sweeten it – it wasn’t as bad as a triple shot espresso, but it was still far from enjoyable. He started to come in every day beforeandafter class, and sometimes he stayed until everyone had left and they needed to close the shop. He started to bring his computer along with him so he could study there – although it didn’t really work out in the end because his eyes keptaccidentallyrolling over to the other side of the shop, where Asahi stood majestically with his smooth hair tied back in a ponytail, shooting warm smiles towards everyone who came in.Accidentally,mind you.or yuu has a crush on the new barista.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 169





	him, the coffee shop, and me

**Author's Note:**

> based on this prompt!
>
>> you’re really short and cute and you buy a cup of black coffee every morning but you make weird faces as you sip it and you never finish your drink. are you trying to look mature or something?
> 
> yes i am aware i have a problem with coffee shop aus
> 
> and yes i am also aware i have a problem with hellopoetry sue me
> 
> all in all, i hope you like it <3

_and i know it's pretty obvious im a goner anyways_   
_you give me a sweet and tender kiss on the lips_   
_i hear your voice telling me not to give you the slip_   
_i smile and realize it will always be.._   
_him_   
_the coffee shop_   
_and me._

_([by allison joy on hellopoetry](https://hellopoetry.com/poem/570520/him-the-coffeeshop-and-me/))_

* * *

Every morning for the past two years, he wakes up at exactly 4:15AM and goes on a morning jog. Or that’s what he would like to do – because, in reality, he wakes up at exactly 7:15AM by the third ring of his alarm, the one with the most harrowing sound he could find just so it would _definitely_ get him out of bed if the others seemingly failed. Which happened quite a lot. Every morning, if he was being honest. But the third one always managed to make him jump out of bed, so props to him for thinking about that.

It was a nice routine.

He’d wake up and get ready as fast as he could, run to the café just down the block and get his usual espresso, drink it down in two or three gulps and run like hell so that he could be in time for his classes. He didn’t really like coffee, not really, but that’s what kept him awake enough to sit through three _harrowing_ hours until he had enough time to walk around campus and back to the adorable café and have his nice cup of overly-sweetened white chocolate mocha. He definitely had a sweet tooth – it’s not like he was purposely trying to hide that or anything.

It’s not news to any of the morning baristas when he comes barging in, bells chirming violently on top of his head, lungs on fire and mouth hanging open as he pants desperately. Usually, they’d already have his order on the go – because he always steps inside the café at exactly 7:46AM every day. Usually, they’d greet him with warm smiles and a few snickers because his hair was standing up weirdly or because his cheeks were an abnormal shade of red or something equally as mortifying.

Today, though, none of that happened.

It’s 7:45AM when he opens the door to the café, bells chirming violently on top of his head, but it’s not Daichi who’s on the register, smiling knowingly at him. It’s not Koushi either. Not even Tobio. It’s not the teasing nor the warm nor the creepy smiles that welcome him, but a sweet and tender, somewhat terrified, grin.

As if he has no idea what Yuu is on about, running around like a madman.

“Welcome!” His voice cracks and Yuu sees a faint blush spreading through his cheeks. “What, uh. What would you like?”

“ _Asahi,”_ he hears Koushi faintly, and in a second his head pops up from under the counter. “It’s _‘can I take your order?’_ , remember that!”

“Sorry,” he mumbles out, voice sweet and low. Koushi chuckles, shaking his head before disappearing again. “Can I take your order?”

“Uh, yeah,” Yuu clears his throat. “A triple shot espresso.”

He pretends he doesn’t see the shocked expression on his face, the way his eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened at the mere mention of such a drink so early in the morning. He pretends he doesn’t see his expression softening as he registers his order on the computer, the way his eyebrows furrow when he presses something he wasn’t supposed to and Koushi has to pop up once again to teach him how to handle things. He pretends he doesn’t see the way he blushes ever-so-slightly when their fingertips brush against each other when he’s handing him the money, the way he bites his bottom lip when he reaches forward to grab the cup and pass it down, the way his eyes flock back to him over and over again while he still tries to make do with the machine in front of him. He pretends he doesn’t notice how cute he is.

“Your name?”

Yuu blinks.

“Oh, right,” he chuckles. “Yuu,” he huffs. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he answers, eyes sparkling. “I started today. We’ll, uh…”

“Shout my name when it’s done, yeah,” he smiles and the man nods.

He’s taller than him, although that’s not something hard to accomplish. His hair is long, Yuu notices, but he has it tied back on a ponytail. His eyes are the sweetest shade of brown, sparkling whenever someone directs their attention at him – maybe, Yuu thinks, he’s just an overly-excited puppy that grew too much. He looks strong and Yuu might have thought about touching his arms, blaming it all on his fucked up sleep schedule.

Koushi pops up again and shoots him one of his warm smiles, getting up in a second and ruffling the back of the new barista’s head.

“This is our new guy,” he says. “You’ll be seeing Yuu a lot in the mornings, Asahi. He always comes barging in for his daily triple shot dose before class.”

“Isn’t that, like, bad for your heart?” He seems highly concerned, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Yuu shoots him a quirky smirk.

“I’ve had worse,” he shrugs as if he hadn’t just said his love life sucked.

Not that Asahi noticed, Yuu thinks. Because he’s still looking worried, still clutching his apron and looking at him wide-eyed, biting his bottom lip so hard it’s lost color. Koushi taps him on the shoulder to bring him out of it and Yuu almost snorts when he jumps in surprise, all color leaving his cheeks. _This guy_ , he thinks, _is the most misleading person ever_. Because he’s tall and huge and _such_ a scaredy-cat, Yuu notices.

It’s when Daichi shouts his name from the other side of the balcony that he dares to look away from him. He waves and, despite cursing under his breath, Daichi comes walking towards them, handing Yuu the slightly-bigger-cup that was seemingly ordered just for him.

He dares to look Asahi in the eyes before downing the bitterness in one go. He tries his best not to make a funny face, not to show how _horrible_ it tastes, not to show just how much he’d rather that was something sweet and calming. But if there’s one thing he knows, despite the bitter aftertaste, is that no face he could ever make after a triple shot espresso would ever be funnier than the disbelief that shadows over Asahi’s face after seeing him down it in a second. _Maybe_ , he thinks, _I’ll even come to like espressos a tiny bit more after today_.

* * *

He didn’t.

He still came rushing in every morning, at exactly 7:46AM. He still ordered his triple shot espresso – or, rather, still paid for it in his rush, because they’d have it ready by the time the door opened. He still downed it in a second and waved them goodbye before darting out again, bag sliding off his shoulder and hitting the plant they kept by the door. He still tripped over his own feet, missing the tiny step by the door, and he still felt his knees wobble when he finally stopped in front of the register and met up with the beautiful brown eyes.

But he didn’t come to like anything about the bitter drink.

Even though he stopped ordering his white chocolate mocha and, instead, ordered his coffee black, he didn’t sweeten it – it wasn’t as bad as a triple shot espresso, but it was still far from enjoyable. He started to come in every day before _and_ after class, and sometimes he stayed until everyone had left and they needed to close the shop. He started to bring his computer along with him so he could study there – although it didn’t really work out in the end because his eyes kept _accidentally_ rolling over to the other side of the shop, where Asahi stood majestically with his smooth hair tied back in a ponytail, shooting warm smiles towards everyone who came in.

_Accidentally,_ mind you.

Sometimes he was operating the machines. Sometimes he was cleaning the shop, walking around grabbing plates and mugs and stirrers and cups people were too lazy to throw out on their way outside. Sometimes he sat with Yuu for a few seconds, chuckling lightly whenever he made a funny face because of the bitterness. Sometimes he glanced at him, looking around his shoulder and smiling softly. Sometimes he didn’t.

“Are you sure you won’t die from the lack of sugar?” Tobio asks, cleaning the table next to his. “What happened to your usual white chocolate mocha?”

“Shh,” he shushes him. “I’m perfectly fine with my black coffee of doom.”

“Of doom?” He cocks his head to the side. “Did someone poison your drink? Do you want me to call the police?”

“You idiot,” he chuckles. “Do your thing, man. I’m perfectly fine with my black coffee. No one poisoned it, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” he shrugs before resuming his work.

It’s a wonder how this place hasn’t burned down yet, he thinks. Truth is, he really did miss his white chocolate mocha and he sometimes caught himself thinking about it in the middle of his _oh-so-boring_ lecture. He even dragged Ryu along to the coffee shop across the street from their campus so he’d buy him a sweet drink. _Payback for setting you up with that girl_ , he’d said when he protested. _It didn’t work out!_ , he tried to argue, but Yuu had just shrugged it off and said that _now that’s not my fault, is it?_

He drinks his coffee slowly, trying to get accustomed to the taste – it’s bitter and icky and he doesn’t want any part on that except for those times when he’s in a hurry and really needs to be awake. Eventually, just as he does every single day, he gives up, the cup half full with what he liked to call _demon juice_. Yeah, he couldn’t stand the bitter taste. Yeah, he _could_ sweeten it up so it was drinkable, at least, _or_ he could just order his usual drinks and sweets and be happy with it.

But Asahi was there to take his order every day.

He wasn’t one to mind what people thought about him in general and he sure as hell wouldn’t mind someone bitching about what his coffee choices were like, but there was something about him, standing there so awkwardly with that soft expression, that sweet, _sweet_ smile on his face. He looked manly and _yet_ so soft that Yuu couldn’t help but want to be his complete opposite. People _did_ say opposites attract. Maybe he was trying to prove a point. Or maybe he just wanted Asahi to think he was cool.

He tries to work on his essay, he really does, but somewhere along the way his eyes advert back to the front of the shop, to the ridiculously tall figure on the register, to the ridiculously loving man who greets everyone as if they’re old pals, as if no one’s able to see his hands shaking when he’s writing their names on the to-go cups. Yuu didn’t think anyone noticed it until Koushi pointed it out, smiling victoriously at him while Daichi chuckled, wrapping his arms around him.

_You’re disgusting_ , Yuu had told them. But he might have thought about Asahi doing the same to him. He might have thought about Asahi peppering kisses along his neck, whispering sweet words under his breath, tickling the sensitive skin right beneath his ear, touching him in his most sensitive spots, making him mewl, holding him tight against his body, caressing his cheeks softly, playing with his hair until they both fell asleep embracing each other. Not that he expected any of those things to actually happen, not at all. Except he might.

It’s only when someone clears their throat in front of him that he snaps out of it, properly staring at what he was _supposed_ to be doing – and blushes furiously when he sees how descriptive he could be regarding his fantasies. _It would definitely be fun if I actually submitted this_ , he thinks. Maybe his professor could use some erotic literature from time to time, anyway.

“Do you usually drink only half of your orders?”

Yuu wants to melt into the chair and _die_ because _of course_ someone would pick up on what he was doing and it just so _had_ to be him. Asahi stands in front of him, hands in his pockets, hair falling graciously over his shoulders, still wearing his apron and with a faint blush on his cheeks. Yuu was definitely going to die and his death certificate would definitely say _Asahi_ as his cause of death.

“You’re always making such a weird face whenever you take a sip out of it,” he goes on and Yuu feels himself sliding on his chair so that his face is partially hidden by his computer. “But you always order the same three shot espresso in the mornings and the same unsweetened black coffee in the afternoons and yet you always look like you hate it.”

Asahi is a rambler, Yuu notices.

“I was just wondering why you’d drink something you don’t like. And you do it every single day…” he chuckles and, _holy shit,_ Yuu thinks he’s having a heart attack right then. “Are you trying to look mature or something like that?”

“Huh?”

He closes his eyes and smiles apologetically, shrugging. “It’s not really working, if that’s the case. You can go back to ordering your usual drinks, you know? No one’s shaming you or anything.”

“Who told you?”

Asahi thinks before he answers. “Daichi did,” _of course he did_ , Yuu thinks to himself. “But they were both talking about it when I came in this morning, so I just figured I’d tell you. Tobio didn’t know anything. I don’t think he picks up on these things at all, to be honest. Not that I’m one to talk. I kept staring at you sometimes and I never noticed, so…”

At Yuu’s funny face, Asahi stops talking, looking down in embarrassment.

“You kept staring at me?”

“I promise I’m not a weirdo or anything,” he says, voice trembling all of a sudden. “You’re cute, I think. I kept staring because you’re cute and I wanted to talk to you without asking what you’re going to drink first. I think.”

“You think?”

Asahi nods, still avoiding his gaze.

“So you wanted to talk to me more?” he asks. Asahi nods. “And you didn’t know how to?” another nod. “Because the only times we interact is when you’re taking my orders?” another nod. “And you just kept staring because I’m cute?”

“Yes,” he says with a sigh. “Wait, _no_. But actually yes.”

“How so?” Yuu giggles and Asahi finally relaxes, smiling softly at him.

“Mind if I?” He gestures to the chair in front of him.

Yuu closes his computer and slides it into his bag. He _should_ be working on his essay, he should be reading articles and trying to come up with something for the big presentation he had in two weeks. He should be doing so many things – and yet, he didn’t want to do any of them, because the cutest man on the whole planet was asking to sit with him on his break and talk to him and who knows what else and damn him if he wouldn’t take this chance.

He watches his every move – from the way he takes a step to the side and then back, pulling the chair just a tiny bit so he can fit his body on the space between the chair and the table, to the way his hair falls down when he crouches a bit so he can fit properly. He watches him sit down and look around the shop, look towards everyone _but_ him and it’s only then that Yuu realizes he’s nervous.

_Cute_ , he thinks. Because he is.

“So?” He says and Asahi’s eyes shoot back at him, darker than usual. Yuu notices his fidgeting and can’t help the smile tugging his lips up. He rests his elbows on the table, tilting his head to the side, eyebrows arched questioningly. Asahi gulps.

“I wanted to ask you something,” he huffs and Yuu swears his heart stops for a second.

“Yeah?”

“Do you…” he chuckles. “Do you think I’m scary?”

Yuu was never someone at a loss for words – he always has something to say, always knows the perfect comeback to every situation, he’s never been afraid to speak in public, he’s always been the friend everyone relies on _because_ he always knows what to say. But right then, with Asahi looking so nervous, fidgeting with the hem of his apron, avoiding his gaze with all his might, Yuu doesn’t know what to say. Because _yes_ , at first glance he looks terribly scary – because, first, he’s a giant man with long hair and a weird goatee, and to make everything worse, he’s terribly awkward around people. If Yuu had met him in different circumstances, he might have wanted to avoid him.

He doesn’t have the heart to say he _is_ , at first glance, but he doesn’t want to lie.

“You’re misinterpreted,” he says, finally. Asahi looks at him questioningly. “You look very scary, really. If I met you in a dark alley, I’d piss myself on the spot.”

“Oh.”

“But you’re also very sweet,” he goes on, resting his face on his hands, looking up at him with a sweet smile on his face. “Your voice is soothing and I like how awkward you are around people even though you see the same faces every day. Like, come on. Everyone here is a regular and you’re still scared you’ll mess things up even though we’ve all been ordering the same things every single day for the last month. Have some faith in yourself, man.”

He chuckles. “Thanks?”

“I’m praising you,” he nods. “Or, rather, your awkwardness. I think it’s cute.”

“ _I’m_ cute?” He seems surprised.

“What? So cute things can only be small? Is that why you said I’m cute?”

Asahi shakes his head, giggling. “Partially, yes. But not only because of that. You try to pretend you like black coffee when Daichi already told me you have a sweet tooth. He said you really like white chocolate mochas and that one chocolate chip cookie but you haven’t been ordering that ever since I started working here.”

Daichi be damned, he thinks. He’ll definitely choke him the next time they meet.

“Were you trying to impress me or something?” He giggles.

“Maybe.”

Yuu didn’t think before speaking up. That’s the only thing he can come up with to explain _why the hell_ he just said what he said. Because _fuck_ , he wasn’t supposed to say that. He was supposed to chuckle and shake his head and say something along the lines of _no, man, why would I do that ha look at me being an adult and drinking black coffee even if it tastes like death hmm delicious demon juice_ or something like that. Or maybe not.

“Were you really?” He asks after a few seconds, blinking slowly as if he’s trying so hard not to miss a single move Yuu makes. “Why?”

Yuu laughs – actually laughs, throwing his head back and closing his eyes so hard they start to hurt. His stomach hurts and his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, but he can’t stop laughing because _fuck, how can someone be so oblivious?_ , he thinks. It’s not like he’s obvious about his interest, but he never tried to hide it. It’s not like he was trying to keep it a secret, anyway, and by the way Koushi teased him when he was bringing him his afternoon _demon juice_ , he figured everyone knew already.

Except for the fact that _Asahi_ himself didn’t.

_Great_ , he thinks. _I think I’ve fallen for the most oblivious person in the world. Now, what?_ Because he wasn’t good with people who didn’t pick up on hints, who didn’t read between the lines and Asahi was just that. _Opposites attract_ , he thinks. And _fuck_ , they really do, don’t they?

“You,” he says, still chuckling, wiping away a tear with his thumb. Asahi still looks at him, dumbfounded. “You’re adorable.”

“And because of that you decided you’d drink your coffee black?” He giggles. “I don’t see a connection.”

“Well,” he shrugs. “You’ll just have to read between the lines, I guess.”

* * *

He still ordered his black coffee every afternoon, but Koushi wasn’t the one to bring it to him anymore. Apparently, Asahi had asked them to be in charge of the tables and Tobio had been the one to be in charge of the register. Yuu could see the disappointed looks people shared upon entering the shop and he could almost feel sorry for Tobio if he wasn’t so simple-minded, so utterly hopeless in his attempts to actually _smile_ and not glare weirdly at people hoping they’d get what he was trying to convey with his weird eyebrow wiggles.

So now Asahi was the one to bring him his coffee.

And, as much as Yuu rolled his eyes and told him he was being stupid, he’d always bring him a tiny treat. Some days he’d slip in a muffin along with his coffee. Other days he’d slip in a cinnamon roll. Once he slipped in a doughnut and a chocolate chip cookie and shushed him when Yuu tried to protest. _To make up for all of those days you only drank your coffee black and unsweetened_ , he had said.

That’s how he finds himself with a slice of cake and a white chocolate mocha, _on the house_ , and both Daichi and Koushi grin at him from behind the counter as Asahi happily trots back to them.

He wants to tell him to stop, wants to tell him this is stupid and he definitely doesn’t need any more teasing from the two mean owners, the two people in the world who absolutely _cannot_ make fun of anyone when they only confessed when Yuu basically forced them to kiss in the middle of the street yelling at them about _how stupid can you be, you jerks?_

“So,” Koushi says, taking off his apron and sitting next to him. “How long have you two been going out?”

Yuu almost chokes on his mocha. “We’re not, though?”

“No way!” he giggles, crouching down a bit. “Are you for real? None of you said anything about, like, dating or something? I can’t believe you! You’ve been eyeing each other since day one! He’s been paying for sweets out of his pockets so he can bring them to you every single day and you’re telling me you haven’t been going out? Not even a kiss? Come on!”

“As if you can say anything,” he takes a sip and closes his eyes for a second. “He’s very oblivious, isn’t he?”

“Asahi? Yeah, very. Don’t you ever think about asking him out, though?”

Yuu would be lying if he said he hadn’t. Yuu would be lying if he said he didn’t plan to, over and over again, but never managed to gather the courage to actually do it. Yuu would be lying if he laughed it off and said a relationship wouldn’t work out for him, that he’d be happy setting his friends up with other people and being the single friend in the friend group. Because he would be lying if he said he didn’t think about sharing his bed with him, about waking him up in his daily rush – and then rewriting that scenario in his head because Asahi would definitely be the one to wake him up with breakfast in bed and tiny kisses on the forehead, sliding down, down, down, until he finally reached his lips. It sounded nice.

“Nah,” he shrugs.

“Liar.”

“Am not.”

Koushi sighs, getting up as fast as he’d flopped down. Yuu sips his mocha and his eyes inevitably roll back to the register, where Asahi stands, happily chatting with new customers, giggling along when one of them makes a mistake and he has to take their orders all over again. Yuu thinks about asking him out, if he’s the one who should do it or if he should wait for him to gather his courage. _That might take a while_ , he thinks, and then shakes his head. It’s no use thinking about it.

Yuu tries to advert his gaze and ends up staring at the couple next to him. They’re sharing light touches and eventually one of them looks lovingly to the other person and _fuck, why does my heart hurt so much_ , he thinks. They’re giggling and sharing pieces of their sweets and drinking from the same frappuccino and Yuu wants to throw up at how tooth-rotting they are. It has nothing to do with being jealous of them, he reminds himself, he’s just not a PDA kind of guy. Except… well, except for the fact that if he just pictured Asahi looking at him like that, he might change his mind.

Not that it mattered, either way.

He allows himself to rest on the table, closing his eyes for a second and trying not to pry into random stranger’s conversation. Before long, he starts thinking about his essays and Asahi and the fact that Ryu might have ruined his chance with that girl and then Asahi again and his professor was wearing a really weird shirt today and Asahi looks really good with his hair tied in a ponytail, doesn’t he?

He doesn’t realize how tired he is until he feels something claiming him and he might as well be living inside a cliché because he just fell asleep in a café while thinking about someone he fell head over heels for and might never have the chance to date. Fucking _great_.

“Yuu?”

Someone’s shaking him lightly, a soft touch on his shoulder, warm and inviting, and he almost doesn’t want to wake up because it feels nice. _Wake up_ , it says, _hey, wake up, it’s time to wake up, we’re closing_. Yuu wants to shush them away because it was really nice to be seeing Asahi in his dreams – and he thinks about the hand on his shoulder, how badly he wants it to be _his_ hand, how badly he wants him to touch him everywhere he can reach.

_Hey_ , it starts off again. _It’s time, we’re closing. Do you think he died? Wait, are you leaving me here? What about him? What do I do? Is he dead, do you reckon? Oi, Yuu, wake up. Are you okay? Should I just leave him for a while? Hey, wake up. Wake up._

He opens his eyes and Asahi is right there, their noses almost brushing and he jumps up with a yelp. Asahi takes a step back, cheeks obviously redder than usual even in the dim light of the almost closed café. He wants to _cry_ because it _was_ actually him and he feels _so light,_ so, so _ethereally out of it_ and he blames it on the thousand sleepless nights and triple shot espressos that have seemingly caught up to him and he’s not even sure he’s seeing straight because it all looks kind of hazy and weird.

But Asahi is there – he’s sure of it. He knows it because of his cologne. He knows it by heart.

“I didn’t want to wake you up,” he says. Yuu nods. “But it’s late and we’re, uh, well. I’m closing in today, apparently. And I think sleeping on top of a table might be pretty bad for your spine. Although you’re not one to care too much about your health since you’re always drinking triple shot espressos every morning and, uh…”

“I have a really bad time waking up,” he says, voice groggy and raspy. “And I don’t even mind the bitterness if it means I can see you every morning, you know? Oh, I shouldn’t have said that, should I? I’m sorry, you’re just very pretty.”

Asahi giggles. “Do you really think so?”

Yuu hums. “I think your hair looks really smooth and you look good with your apron. I think it’s sexy. Have you ever thought about doing it here?”

“Doing it?”

“Sex,” he giggles childishly. “In your workplace. Daichi and Koushi have done it, I just know it. I bet they did it in the storage room during their breaks. What do you think?”

“I don’t,” he cocks his head, fidgeting with his apron. “I don’t really think about that, really.”

“Hmm,” Yuu smiles. “I didn’t either. And then you showed up, I guess.”

Asahi blushes harder – as if that was even possible – and looks elsewhere, biting his bottom lip. Yuu thinks it’s fun to tease him, to get these reactions out of him, and he thinks about just how far he can take this before he snaps. He won’t do anything, he tells himself, because that would be mean and he’s way too tired to remember details when he wakes up tomorrow, but one day he’ll definitely tease him all the way down to the core, until he snaps and tells him everything he’s been keeping hidden all this time.

Maybe then he’ll get an answer to his unsaid questions.

“Would you,” he starts with a low voice and Yuu squints as if it’ll help him hear better. “Would you be opposed to, uh… like, going out on a date with me sometime?”

“Wait,” Yuu whispers. “Am I still asleep?”

Asahi chuckles, shaking his head. “No, I’m pretty sure I woke you up.”

“Pinch me.”

“Wha–”

“Pinch me,” he repeats, holding out his arm between them. “So I know it’s real.”

He shakes his head but does it anyway, pinching the flesh of his arm so lightly Yuu almost wants to scold him for it. But he doesn’t. Because he might be sleep deprived and he might be kind of groggy and drowsy and seeing everything through a weird sleepy mist but he’s sure he heard it perfectly.

It doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to hear it again.

“Alright,” he giggles. “Can you say that again?”

“You heard me perfectly, though,” Asahi pouts, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Yuu grins. “You absolute walnut,” he giggles. “You are the cutest giant scary man I have ever had the pleasure to meet. But I think I didn’t really understand what you just said. Could you _please_ repeat it?”

Asahi shakes his head once again, pout breaking into a cheeky smile. “Would you like to go out on a date with me sometime?”

“Well,” he sighs, mimicking Asahi’s smile. “I would love to go on a date with you, Mr. Cute Giant Scary Man. I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

Every morning for the past two months, he wakes up exactly at 5:30AM and goes on a morning jog after he’s woken up with sweet kisses on the sides of his mouth, his cheeks and the tip of his nose. The alarm doesn’t work for him anymore and Asahi is the only one who can wake him up now, he thinks. Which isn’t at all bad, if he’s being honest. It makes waking up less of a hassle.

He still goes to the café in the mornings even though Asahi brings him breakfast in bed. He still goes to the café in the mornings even though Asahi makes him the best coffee at home and they drink it under their blankets, still half wrapped up in each other – _to preserve the heat_ , Yuu says, even though sometimes it gets so unbearably hot Yuu almost faints. He doesn’t mind.

He still goes to the café in the mornings but he doesn’t order his triple shot espresso. Instead, he watches Asahi putting on his apron and tying his hair back in the usual ponytail. Instead, he watches him walking around the shop and around the counter. Instead, he gets on his tiptoes and pecks him on the lips before he starts making him his white chocolate mocha to go, sometimes wrapping a bagel so that he can have a snack in the middle of his lecture. Sometimes he slips in a muffin, sometimes he slips in a few cookies – and Yuu knows Daichi pretends not to see it. Yuu knows Koushi teases Asahi throughout the day.

It was a nice routine, Yuu thinks.

It was nice, he thinks, and it would always be Asahi, that adorable coffee shop just down the block, and him. And probably a few muffins and doughnuts slipped inside his bag when they thought no one was looking, a few kisses when they thought the others were occupied with something. It was nice.

And, if he was being honest, he didn’t even mind the times when he had to torture himself with the horrid _demon juice_. Because now it would be Asahi, white chocolate mochas, and him.


End file.
